Sans Fig Leaf
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"The Age of Foolishness"
21 September, 2006
I don't remember a time when I didn't know the rules to the Clue board game. If you're not familiar with the game, the object is to solve a murder by moving around the board, suggesting possible scenarios, and as other players show you cards that disprove some aspect of your suggestion, eventually determining which three cards (naming a person, a room, and a weapon) are in the black envelope in the center of the board.
It was one of my mom's favorite games to play when she was a teen. Sometime before my sister was born (when I was four), Mom taught me how to play. I know it was before my sister was born because I remember playing it with my grandmother, my mom, and a couple of mom's friends when grandma came to stay with us when my sister was born. I already knew how to play, and my two favorites were Mrs. Peacock and Prof. Plum.
I remember a game played a few years later where my dad chastised me for picking Mrs. Peacock, again. He made me play Mr. Green (Dad always played Col. Mustard) because guys should play guys. My sister didn't know how to read, yet, and she was "helping" Mom play. One of the best parts about the game was making up a little story to go along with your supposition. It wasn't enough to just say, "Col. Mustard, in the Lounge, with the Lead Pipe." No, you needed to explain the murder, like one of those scenes in murder mysteries, where the detective assembles everyone in the room and explains what happened and why. Even Dad participated in this unofficial part of the game.
Each player's personality could be seen from the type of stories they told. Most of Dad's stories centered on the gory details of the murder. Mom's tales were more about the motivations of the characters: revenge, righteous indignation, jealousy, you name it. Depending on my mood, my stories might be long and elaborate, with lots of sub-plots involving all the other characters, or fairly simple and direct.
I suppose that some people would say that a game focused on murder isn't appropriate material for a child. Certainly the company's Clue, Junior game (the players search a house for a lost pet) is built on that assumption. I suppose those same people would be horrified to learn that my mom attempted to teach me proper grammar (accidently teaching me to read in the process) by reading aloud her Agathe Christie books.
But there was something reassuring about the game. Just as there's something reassuring about a well-written murder mystery. The world may be a dangerous place, but it can be explained, and dangerous individuals can be identified and dealt with. Not every danger in the world can be dealt with, but many can.
Folks think I'm crazy when they learn that I still regularly run a roleplaying game. Particularly when they learn that it isn't on computers or console: a group of my friends actually get together, face-to-face, to play an elaborate game of make-believe. If they don't run screaming into the night at that news, they usually freak out when they learn that we've been playing the current game setting with the current "characters" for a bit over five years. Even at conventions when I meet hard core gamers I get funny looks when they find out that this five-year-campaign is by no means the longest I've ever run (it's closing in on second place; but we're going to have to keep playing until 2012 to tie my longest-running game).
Of course, if they've paid any attention to other things in my life, they know that I tend to hang in for the long haul. I like large projects that require a lot of planning, creativity, and fun. I don't mind if it takes a while to get to the destination, particularly when I have great travel companions.
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